Spartans/Wolverines basketball pre-game post

Another Michigan State/Michigan tilt is upon us, so I thought I'd take a few minutes to discuss it before tackling the task of cleaning the dirty cat boxes in the basement.

As usual, I face today's game with a degree of nervousness and trepidation. Though I think the Spartans should win, the game is in Ann Arbor and the Michigan basketball team is about as unpredictable as they come--if their shots fall, they are dangerous, but if they don't, disaster frequently follows. Some point to the Wolverines' drubbing at the hands of Indiana as an indication that the Wolvies are trending downward. Maybe. But I have a hard time believing that they will play that poorly in consecutive games--and this being a rivalry game, I fully expect Michigan to play extremely hard. But I also expect the Spartans to bring the ever-present chip on the shoulder. MSU has three senior leaders in Valentine, Costello, and Forbes who do not want to lose in what could be their final game against Michigan. So, for whatever my predictions are worth (since I'm a shameless homer), I'll pick MSU to win this one in a relatively close game, 82-75.

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While on the subject of Michigan (a topic that never goes away), I should take the opportunity to clarify what I wrote about Michigan's recruiting event at Hill Auditorium. It's truly great that it raised so much money for the Chad Tough fund to fight cancer, and it's probably unfair of me to come down so hard on Jim Harbaugh. He has to be given credit for creating such a novel idea that was pulled off so successfully. It's exactly the sort of event that Mark Hollis has frequently devised here at Michigan State. Though I'm not always on board with every Hollis creation, I am generally more charitable towards him than I was towards Harbaugh. It was a stroke of genius to create an event that both loudly and extravagantly promoted the Michigan football program while also raising six figures for cancer research. Though I must admit I still view the whole affair with a bit of cynicism, kudos to Michigan for its generosity.

That was a rare moment of conciliation offered to the University of Michigan. I may be getting a little soft in my old age (though if you saw my back-and-forth with Michigan fans after signing day and after the Spartans' 3-2 win over Michigan in last night's hockey game, you might not think that's the case).

Now, before I get too warm and fuzzy with Michigan, it has to be said that lately they excel everywhere EXCEPT on the field. There is a constant bellowing bluster coming out of Ann Arbor about September Heismans, August Big Ten Champions, and Recruiting National Titles. I'm still waiting for any of this hot air to translate into results on the playing field.

Off to get to those cat boxes now. I may or may not get back to this blog after today's basketball game, depending on what mood I'm in.

It was national signing day, and I don't care that much...but that shindig in Ann Arbor sure got some attention

College football's national signing day was today.

I don't know if I've ever mentioned it in this blog before, but I really don't care that much about national signing day. In fact, I don't pay all that much attention to recruiting in general. In that, I may be in the minority among fans of collegiate athletics.

With the dog and pony show in Ann Arbor, though, it was difficult to ignore. That, and the constant updates I kept getting on my phone about various recruits making their decisions.

I got in trouble with a Michigan fan on Facebook for referring to Michigan's recruiting hootenanny at Hill Auditorium as a "dog and pony show," but I stand by it. This particular Michigan fan called me "classless" because this Wolverine shindig raised a large sum of money towards cancer research.

It's all well and good that the all the fat wads of money the U of M faithful paid to see Tom Brady, Ric Flair, Lou Holtz (etc.) went to charity, but one has to be incredibly naive to believe this was solely about philanthropy and nothing else. If Jim Harbaugh hadn't already cultivated an image of huckster and shameless self-promoter who will stop at nothing to get attention, I'd think otherwise. The cynic in me believes the "charity" aspect of today's event was attached mainly to make it more palatable to the public, and not appear solely be a brazen attempt to hype the Michigan football program.

For several reasons, the most satisfying win over Michigan in my lifetime

Yesterday was to be the day of the Jim Harbaugh coronation. The day in which the Michigan Wolverines would once again claim their lofty position as one of college football's elite. The stage was set, with ESPN College GameDay broadcasting from U of M's Diag, followed by a national broadcast of the game on ESPN.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the coronation, Mark Dantonio and the Michigan State Spartans knocked Harbaugh's royal carriage off the road.

I did a count last night, and Michigan State has defeated Michigan in football 16 times in my lifetime (though I really shouldn't count the 1969 game since I don't remember it). So of the 15 I remember, yesterday's victory was far and away the most satisfying one.

Let's do a rundown of the various reasons this MSU win over Michigan was so sweet:

1. The Jim Harbaugh hype. All we've been hearing about since late December 2014 is "the wonder and glory of Jim Harbaugh." The media would have you believe he's Bo Schembechler, Vince Lombardi, and God Almighty in khakis. The hyperbole involving this guy had become truly nauseating, so knocking him off his pedestal, in the most gut-wrenching manner possible, is incredibly satisfying for Michigan State fans.

2. The Michigan shutout streak. Hey, I'll hand it to Michigan, three straight shutouts is a splendid accomplishment--but come on, let's get real. People talked about this Michigan defense like it was the 1985 Chicago Bears. Two of those shutouts were at home and all three against teams that are, at best, middling. Michigan was hanging its hat on last week's 38-0 win over Northwestern, but after the Iowa Hawkeyes trucked the Wildcats 40-10 in Evanston, it's now quite clear that this "signature win" was a mirage.

Though Michigan's run defense was stout against the Spartans (and so, too, was MSU's against the Wolverines), Connor Cook was able to exploit Michigan's secondary all day long with Spartan receivers making plenty of big catches (though credit must be given to Wolverines' splendid defensive back Jourdan Lewis, who battled Aaron Burbridge all day long). So Michigan's shutout streak came to a resounding end.

3. Turning the tables on the free publicity. As I wrote, this was all set up to be Michigan football's 2015 debutante ball and Harbaugh's coronation as the greatest football coach in the history of the world (or something like that). In the most incredible and improbable way--certainly one of the greatest-ever ends to a college football game--the Spartans pulled the rug out from under Michigan. The fumbled punt snap returned for a touchdown suddenly became THE play that everyone was talking about last night. Social media exploded. The replay was shown ad infinitum on the Big Ten Network, ESPN, and probably every other sports television network. It was posted on Twitter and Facebook by everyone. Michigan State couldn't possibly have scripted a better way to win that game and capture the most attention possible.

4. At least temporarily silencing the Michigan fan base. Oh my, had they become annoying. Where do I even begin? There was the whole Harbaugh mania, there was the incessant criticism of MSU's close wins in comparison to Michigan's blowouts, and just the fact that they'd crawled out of the woodwork like cockroaches.

Now, let me make this perfectly clear, there is no doubt that Michigan football is much improved over where it was under Rich Rodriguez and most of Brady Hoke's tenure, and Michigan will most likely remain a strong program as long as Harbaugh is there; but before we prepare to crown Harbaugh, keep in mind that Mark Dantonio and Michigan State are still here and aren't going away.

Mid-week thoughts about the state of Michigan State football

We're still waiting for Michigan State football to play for an entire 60 minutes, and with the team looking closer to a M*A*S*H* unit than a football squad lately, I don't when or if we will see that this season. Quite frankly, this is not the #4 team in the country right now. Whether that changes in the next few weeks or months, I have no idea.

Michigan State is still undefeated, but along with Ohio State, it has to be the shakiest and least impressive 5-0 record in the nation. I'm still trying to determine if this is due to: a) the targets on their backs (with every opponent giving the Spartans their best shot, b) the terrible injury situation, c) boredom, d) losing Pat Narduzzi, or e) all of the above.

The upcoming Rutgers game is important. First of all, MSU needs to find a way to win. And if looking at Rutgers' record you think I'm crazy to simply suggest that MSU needs to worry more about escaping with a win than blowing the Scarlet Knights out of the building, then look a little closer. Though by any statistical standard Rutgers is not a good football team, strange things have happened in Piscataway to high- ranked teams, and the Spartans are possibly the most vulnerable high-ranked team in the nation right now. Add to that, this is a night game and it's being promoted as a "black out" at Rutgers. It will be a frenzied atmosphere at High Point Solutions Stadium. (By the way, could there possibly be a worse name for a college football stadium?).

On the other hand, maybe getting away from East Lansing is just what the Spartans need. It could be the old "circle the wagons" mentality in front of a hostile crowd. It could also be that the Spartans are feeling the lofty expectations in their own stadium and could use a road game to temporarily escape that.

Though it's not Dantonio's approach or philosophy towards the game of football, a blowout win over Rutgers may be exactly what the Spartans need to boost their confidence (if it needs boosting) and, more importantly, get the media and fans off their backs for a week (because the media and fans will already be hyping the Michigan game).

And this leads me to...

...I don't think it's too early to start talking about the MSU/Michigan game:

Michael Rosenberg, on SI College Football Podcast, made an astute observation about the inevitable reaction if Michigan beats Michigan State--and let's face it, with the game in Ann Arbor and the Spartans severely beaten up and not playing well--it is a distinct possibility. Rosenberg said (and I'm paraphrasing) that if Michigan wins, the national and local media will trumpet how the "tide has turned" and "MSU's reign in the state is over" and similar nonsense.

Now listen, Harbaugh has done a great job with Michigan, and I have little doubt that he has already turned the program around, but Michigan State isn't going away under Dantonio. One win over the Spartans does not indicate that MSU's grave should be dug. Rosenberg believes MSU is here to stay under Dantonio and so do I.

Catching up

I am writing this on a brand-new tablet that I received for Christmas. It was a most unexpected but pleasant surprise. No longer will I have to tap out this blog on my Android phone or sneak it in via any desktop computer that makes itself momentary available.

 

It's been quite an eventful few weeks in collegiate sports.

 

At this point, it seems a certainty that Jim Harbaugh will end up as Michigan's new football coach. I'd hoped that he'd turn down Michigan simply so I could witness the collective hand-wringing that would inevitably occur. Unfortunately, with the way the San Francisco 49ers' season has flamed out, it's almost inevitable that Harbaugh will cast his lot with the Wolverines.

 

With Harbaugh to Michigan, we'll have to deal with the inevitable "Michigan is back" chatter. The nausea factor will reach extreme levels. The Detroit media in particular is just clamoring for Michigan football to be relevant again, and we non-Michigan fans will simply have to weather the hype machine for at least a few weeks or perhaps months.

 

Back to Michigan State: the Spartan basketball team has had a rocky few weeks. The Eastern Michigan game was an inspired victory over a team that I still maintain is a contender for the MAC title. The Spartans handled the 2-3 zone with aplomb en route to a 86-66 victory. I was lucky enough to score tickets to the EMU game and brought my oldest son, who agreed to join me even though he's not much of a basketball fan.

 

The EMU game was followed up by a game against Texas Southern that was a polar opposite in terms of energy and urgency--and MSU couldn't make a shot to save its life. In some fairness to the Spartans, the Breslin Center (at least as it appeared on television) was a morgue and there was little energy from the fans for the team to feed upon. The crowd didn't come alive until Texas Southern took the lead with under two minutes left in regulation. It seemed like the sheer shock of the deficit woke the fans from their slumber. Unfortunately, the Spartans had already fallen permanently to sleep.

 

After the embarrassing loss to Texas Southern, which was easily the equal of Michigan's stunning defeat at the hands of New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), the Spartans bounced back with a win over The Citadel--a game that few saw because it wasn't on television.

 

MSU basketball opens up the Big Ten schedule in two days against 12-1 Maryland. The Terps' biggest wins are against Iowa State and Oklahoma State, with its only loss coming against Virginia. So not an overwhelmingly strong schedule for Maryland, but still a 12-1 record is nothing to take lightly.

 

Four days until MSU football's game against Baylor in the Cotton Bowl. I hope that Pat Narduzzi can leave Michigan State on a bright note with the Spartans' defense containing Baylor's "track meet on a football field" offense. I'm worried that MSU struggled against Oregon and Ohio State, two teams with similar offensive attacks as Baylor. My hope is that lessons have been learned from those two losses and will be applied to the Baylor game.